Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital of Finland. Most of the foreign hitchhikers enter the country here, either by boat from Tallinn of by plane to the international airport - which is not actually in Helsinki, but in Vantaa.

Helsinki is a nice place and worth staying for a couple of nights. Its a rather small city with about half a million inhabitants and quite relaxed atmosphere.

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Hitching Out

North to Hämeenlinna, Tampere

Take a local train to Kannelmäki and then bus 43 or 46T (from the same side of the street as the train station). With bus 46T ask to get off at Kalannintie, and with bus 43 ask to get off at the Tampere roundabout. You will easily see the motorway exit because it is signposted Tampere.

Traffic is light here and much of it is local, so don't use a sign. Try to get onto the motorway and then ask to be dropped off at a petrol station a couple of kilometres north where you can easily continue on with a sign.

You can also go to the northern end of "Mannerheimintie", where "Hämeenlinnanväylä" starts. At least the buses 43, 452, 63 (leaving from the train station, from the "Elielinaukio") take you there, hop off at the bus stop "Ruskeasuon varikko", where you can start hitching! You can reach this spot by tram too: take the tram number 10 to the direction Pikku-Huopalahti (goes in front of Lasipalatsi and follows Mannerheimintie). Hop off at Ruskeasuo and walk along Mannerheimintie for 5 minutes until you reach the end of it (the beginning of Hämeenlinnanväylä) and the bus stop mentioned above. Use a sign because there's a lot of traffic inside the city and you might get a direct ride to your destination.

East to Porvoo, Kotka, Russian border, Saint Petersburg

The fastest way to get east is to walk to the junction of Ring Road III and the motorway from the metro station Mellunmäki. This is about a 40 minute journey on foot.

How to reach the eastbound junction on foot

Once at the junction, it is easy to get a ride as short as the suburbs or as far as Saint Petersburg. With so many options, it is wise to turn down any ride not going all the way to your destination.

Signs marking the Helsinki eastbound junction

There is another option to at least Porvoo, though it is superseded by the route mentioned above and waiting times can be extremely long. Take the metro to the Mellunmäki station, then take buses 56K, 86 or 87 to the Kuussillantie stop. The bus driver may not know the name of the stop, but if you mention that it is the Esso station before the bridge, he can then alert you when it is time to get off. On the corner a few metres toward the bridge from the McDonald's and the Esso, you'll see cars entering the junction of Ring 3 and highway 7. Stand right before the no pedestrian sign.

If you go further than to Porvoo, there is a rest stop halfway between Helsinki and Porvoo, so ask to drop you there. All there is is toilets and a café, so it's most efficient in the morning time. From there, find a ride at least to Kotka.

West to Turku

Take bus 18 from the west side of the Central Railway Station to the Niemenmäki stop. Going a little further from the bus stop and cross to the other side of the street. You'll find the entry ramp onto the motorway. I recommend standing right in front of the large side with a graphic symbolizing the motorway, as then you'll be seen by cars coming from both directions, and there's sufficient room for a car to stop. Use a sign, not everyone taking this route is going all the way to Turku.

Some of the drivers say though that it's pretty hard to stop there and have adviced to hitch hike with a sign on a bus stop on Huopalahdentie right before the ramp.

External links

• Helsinki at hitchbase.com

• Hitchhiking guide to Helsinki